Good morning everyone. Have a question about cdma v gsm on the pre 3. As i understand it the 3 is a world phone correct? If so does it matter if I get a verizon branded model or can any unlocked pre 3 be activated on verizon?

I'm not an expert, but as I understand it, the at&t Pre 3 (which I own, use, and like, by the way!) uses a GSM SIM card, which will not work with Verizon, which is CDMA (as is Sprint, for example). On the other hand, the Verizon Pre 3 has both Verizon's CDMA, and a GSM SIM slot, so it MIGHT work with at&t. One last caveat though... As I understand it, the Verizon Pre 3 is not 4G (HSPA+), where as the at&t Pre 3 is.

So I suppose it depends on what you want... The at&t Pre 3 will work with any carrier that uses a compatible SIM, and will get 4G if that carrier uses the same frequencies. It will not work with a CDMA carrier (U.S.: Sprint, Verizon). The Verizon Pre 3 will work with Verizon, AND with carriers using a GSM SIM card, but does not offer 4G.

I trust that someone more knowledgeable than me will come along and verify or correct all this!

so im still a bit confused. the AT&T model will work on verizon? I wasnt really concerned with 4G altho that would be nice. Just noticed that the vzw models are a bit higher and seem to be vanishing quickly. I havent yet raised the required cash to buy one. I also forgot to mention I dont plan on any travel outside the US so I dont really need both types I just figured world phone meant it worked with both so it should work on vzw too.

Hey bluenote, did you have to do anything special to your VZW Pre3 to get the H20 sim working?

My pre still has the original Vodaphone SIM in it and I had heard it would no work in US on GSM, and overseas it was locked to Vodaphone. Vodaphone owns a percentage of Verizon.

I traveled overseas a couple of years ago and still have an active Telestial world SIM card that I used in a little Quad Band Unlocked Samsung phone. I put it in the Pre3 but I could not get it to do anything.

I had also saw a post were a user had a Pre3 in Ireland I think and it worked but not well.

How well does your Pre3 work on the US GSM network?

cheers

Originally Posted by bluenote

I have an H20 card in my VZW pre3 (H20 uses ATT network). I get talk and text in the US but not data.

works fine but have not used it heavily, just as interim until I turn on vzw service shortly. I inputted the strings for att talked about in the forums or maybe it did that automatically. I set the phone to do gsm signal, I will switch to auto once I get vzw.

Hi, wizard83. I'm not the original poster, but did take my VZN Pre3 to Ireland. I went ahead and just used the SIM that came with the unit.

My experience most probably mirrored the person's to whom you were referring.

I had a good experience with the VZN global support folks in getting things set up before leaving the U.S. In Ireland the coverage seemed to be a bit spotty - I couldn't always get a signal, or if I did, might lose it. Some locales seemed to have better coverage than others (Dublin really spotty, Galway super strong). Since I was not on work related travel, this was more of a first test run of using the Pre3 internationally. Next time, I'll experiment working with other SIMS.

took my vzw pre3 to armenia and used an Orange sim there no problem. No need to unlock it, as it's already locked. And also had the vzw intl plan so was able to use my shipped Vodafone sim there as well. Signal was almost non existent in buildings but outside was fine.